Life, Kids & The Pursuit of Happiness: One Mama's Quest to Uncover her Best Self

How to Guide for a Lego Costume

Halloween: The holiday in which parents have to shuffle their children from door to door to receive candy from neighbors that are unhappy about having to constantly answer their doors. For us parents, it is the holiday in which all diets are started, stopped and restarted in January…after we have eaten all our kids candy and all the holiday food to come.

In my pre-child, adult life, I never cared for Halloween. Now, I don’t mind it. It’s the holiday that parents, like me, want to “save” money on purchasing some crazy expensive costume that will be worn once. Let’s be honest—purchasing a costume and making a costume probably didn’t save me any money. However, it did allow me some quality time with my son. Researching and planning the costume, shopping for supplies and putting the costume together. That in itself is worth more than money—and maybe just maybe, he will tell people that he made his own costume with his mama and/or be super excited to wear it to go trick or treating.

Caleb and I spent a lot of time speaking about what he wanted to be for Halloween this year. After talking about some superhero options, we brainstormed some other ideas based on his major interests. Hot Wheels, Grilled Cheese, building Hot Wheels tracks, coloring, Bananas and Legos. I’d be crazy to let my kid dress up as a sandwich (all though when I think about it now…it would be really funny) so we took to Pinterest to get some ideas. Caleb typed L-E-G-O into my IPad. It’s his new word he can spell and probably why the memory on my phone is full because he can download free Lego games without my knowledge. But I digress, we found a whole page of cool Lego costumes on Pinterest. Kids in boxes from head-to-toe dressed as little Lego men other kids dressed as Legos. He really wanted to be a Lego man. However, I didn’t want him wearing a mask—so he settled on being a Lego.

A few weeks ago, we hit up our local craft store, to shop for supplies. We had a big discussion on what color Lego he would be and settled on his new favorite color of the week- Orange. My girlfriend donated a diaper box to use which saved us from having to purchase a box. All we needed was spray paint, a hot glue gun and circles to make the “Lego” part of the costume.

My son is 4.5 years old. So If you are making this for an adult or an older kid you will need to change the size for some of your materials.

Materials for the Lego Costume:

1 Box: We used a free diaper box. Other sizes can be picked up at your local hardware or craft store.

2 Cans of Colored Spray Paint: I probably wouldn’t recommend a printed box, because we needed more Spray Paint to cover all the printed words. I was hoping I could get away with 1 can but Hubby suggested purchasing another can.

6 Circles to Make the “Lego”: I purchased small storage containers. They come in a package of 8—I also was interested in the round deli containers which are free (my market has changed what they use for bulk food on the salad bar) or cardboard circles from a craft store if you wanted to spend $3.99 on each circle. I opted for the storage containers.

Hot Glue, Knife, Masking Tape

Step 1: Cut circles for your child’s head and arms. I took a bowl from my kitchen and saw if it fit over Caleb’s head. When I found one large enough, I just used that for the cut out measurements. I went larger, so it wouldn’t rub his neck or bug his arms. I also used masking tape to cover all the edges that were cut as well as to reinforce the box, interior and exterior.

Lego Costume: Box with Arm and Head Cutouts

Lego Project: Caleb Modeling the Box

Step 2:

I measured (eye-balled) out where the “Lego” part should go and marked up the box.

I used a Hot Glue Gun to add the storage containers to the box.

Lego Project: Hot Glue containers to the box

Lego Project: Hot Glue containers to the box

Step 3:

Spray Paint away! I sprayed the box outside. Make sure you do this in a well ventilated area and cover your surface. Spray Paint lands where you least expect it.

Lego Project: Orange Box Spray Painted

We completed the project over a few days: cut the box on day 1, glue on day 2, spray paint on day 3 and 4. If you are short on time, just make sure you leave enough time for all the glue and paint to dry.

I also discovered this online site called Primary. They only sell basics at a very reasonable price. You can find solid color clothing in every color! So I purchased the Long Sleeve PJ Top and the PJ Pant to wear under the box. I’ve purchased a few items from here in the past. The clothing has no tags and washes and wears well. I’ve also found it doesn’t shrink in the wash, which is super key to extending the length of time he has to wear the clothing. For a limited time, I can pick 5 friends to receive free Primary PJs a $24 value) with your first order of $50 or more. If you are interested in shopping, comment below and I’ll add your email to their distribution.